Folding-machine.



W. A. SMITH.

FOLDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 21. IBIZ.

Patented Sept. 19, 1916.

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W. A. SMITH FOLDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 21. m2.

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APPLICATION FILED MAR. 27. l9l2.

1 ,1 98,485. Patented Sept. 19, 1916.

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WILLARD A. SMITH, 0F MELROSE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

FOLDING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 19, 1916.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I /VILLARD A. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Melrose, in the county of Middl esex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Folding-Machines, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like reference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to folding machines and is herein illustrated in connection with a machine for progressively folding the cemented edges of pieces of leather which are to be incorporated into the upper-s of boots and shoes. The invention relates particularly to folding machines of that class wherein the folding operation is carried out by a creaser and a cooperating folding device movable across the edge of the creaser to bend the stock about the edge of said creaser. In the illustrative machine the stock is fed beneath the creaser with the margin which is to be folded overlying the folder, and means are provided for moving the folder to bend said mar in up over the edge of the creaser during the intermittent pauses in the feed.

Inasmuch as folding machines of the present type are particularly useful in operating upon pieces of material the edges of which have sharp curves it is desirable that the feed mechanism be constructed to permit ready turning of the work; and it is also desirable that means be provided for feeding the last portion of the creased or folded material to and past the presser so that the operation may be complete on each piece without any manual feeding of the material.

Accordingly an important feature of the invention consists in the provision in amachine of the class described of a support for the material. a finger having an operative face of small area for cooperating with the support during the feeding movement whereby the material may readily be turned, and means becoming operative when the feeding finger ceases to be operative for continuing the feed of the material. In the illustrative machine there are provided two sets of members between which the material is'gripped one set being operative until the rearmost end of the material has passed it, the other set then coming into operation. These and other features of the invention including certain details of construction and combinations of parts will be described in connection with an illustrative machine and pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings,-Figure 1 is a side elevation of the machine a portion of the base being broken away; Fig. 2 is a section of the rear portion of the machine on the line'22 of Fig. 1 and a plan of the forward portion of the machine with the overhanging arm removed; Figs. 3 to 6 are perspectives showing different relative positions of the slitting, folding and pressing elements; Fig. 7 is a perspective showing the details of the mechanism for driving the upper feed member and knife; Fig. 8 is a perspective showing the details of the mechanism for actuating the presser; Fig. 9 is a perspective showing a part of the mechanism for actuating the folder; Fig. 10 is a perspective showing further details of the knife actuating mechanism in the position occupied by the parts when the knife is inoperative; and Fig. 11 is a detail showing the connection between the arm 58 and the yoke 82.

Rotatably mounted in the frame of the machine is a driving shaft 1 having fast thereto a combined driving pulley and hand wheel 3 and a beveled gear 5. An upright countershaft 7 carries a second beveled gear 9 which meshes with the gear 5, and from these two shafts the various elements of the machine are actuated.

Mounted upon the outer end of the shaft 1 is an eccentric 11 (see Figs. 7 and 10) encircled by a strap 13 having an arm 15 connected therewith, said arm carrying an actuating rod 17 which is adapted to be caused, when desired, to engage a hook 19 formed at the upper end of a bar 21 to the lower end of which a knife 23 is adjustably fastened bymeans of a screw 25. In order that the position of the actuating rod 17 may be varied a bell crank lever hav ng arms 27 and 29 is pivoted on a bearing upon the shaft 1. The lower arm 27 1s provided with lugs 31 between which the end of the rod 17 is located, and the upper arm -29 is arranged to be actuated by a lever '33, said lever being pivoted at 35 to the frame of the machine and being connected with a suitable treadle-rod 37 by which it may be actuated. A spring 38 connected at one end to the arm 29 of the bell crank lever and at the other end to the frame of the machine normally holds the arm 29 in such a position that the knife is not actuated. In order, however, that the knife may be rendered continuously operative, if desired, a screw 39 having its upper end in contact with the under side of the lever is threaded through an ear 11 of the frame. hen now the arm 29 is raised either by means of the screw 39 or the treadle rod 37, the rod 17 engages the hook 19 so that the bar 21 together with the knife is reciprocated. The knife in its operation coepe-rates with a shear member 43 (see Figs. 3 to 6) which is carried by the work supporting table 45. The work engaging face of the member 13 slopes upwardly from the plane of the table 45 so that the margin of the work, in passing over it, will be turned up at an angle to the body portion thereof.

Besides actuating the knife, the shaft 1 is adapted also to give a reciprocating movement to a creaser or fold guide and to a portion of the feed mechanism. Mounted on said shaft between its end and the eccentric 11 is a second smaller eccentric 47 about which is a loose strap 49 adapted to be raised at intervals by the eccentric 47. Integral with the strap 19 is an arm 53 to which is pivoted at 55 a yoke 57 having downwardly extending arms 59 and 61. Carried at the lower ends of these arms are feeding fingers 63 and 65; and the feeding finger 65 is provided with a creaser or fold guide in the form of an extension 67 the purpose of which will presently be described. A spring 51, one end of which is fastened to the arm 53 and the other to the removable cover 52 (see Fig. 1), holds the fingers 63 and 65 down upon the work during the feeding movement. The fingers 63 and 65 cooperate respectively with studs 68, 69 on a carrier 71 to grip the stock; and the feeding fingers, studs and carrier are actuated laterally to feed the stock, after it has been gripped, by a lever 73, see Figs. 1, 7 and 8, fast to an upright rockshaft 75, said rockshaft being provided with an arm 77 which is fast to the casing 79 in which the arms of the yoke 57 are held. Inasmuch as the carrier 71 is moved in a slightly curved path about the axis of the rockshaft 75, it is desirable that provision be made for permitting angular movement of the yoke 57 about the axis of the arm 53. Accordingly, a stem 80, see Fig. 11, of the yoke 82, which forms in effect the lower end of the arm 53, fits into a cylindrical socket in said arm and is held from longitudinal movement with respect to said arm by a key 84:, as shown.

The lever 73, see Fig. 8, is pivoted at 81 to a lever 83 having at one end a roller 35 and at the other a yoke 87 which en gages an eccentric 89. lVith this construction, if the end of the lever which carries the roll is free to move, the pivot 81 will remain stationary and hence no movement will be imparted to the lever 73, the amplitude of movement imparted to said lever being dependent upon the extent of longitudinal movement of the lever 83. In order to control this movement an adjustingmember 91 pivoted to the frame at 93 is held in adjusted angular position by a thumb screw 95, the stem 97 of which passes through a slot 99 in the table. This member 91 has depending lugs 101 which form between them a track or way for the roller 85, the inclination of which determines the extent of longitudinal movement of the lever 83. As constructed, when the stem 97-is in the upper portion of the slot, as viewed in Fig. 2, no movement is imparted to the lever 73; but when the stem 97 is in the lower portion of the slot, the maximum movement is imparted to the lever 73; and it should be noted that with this construction the feeding movement of the fingers 63 and 65 ends always in the same place, but that the position of the beginning of the feeding movement may be varied. Rollers are pro vided to facilitate the movement of the carrier 71.

Although in the illustrative machine the c-reaser or fold guide has been shown as fast to one of the feed fingers and hence "lovable therewith, it should be understood that such construction and movement is not essential and that any suitable creaser may be employed.

Turning now to the mechanism for actuating the folder 105, there is carried by the shaft 7 a cam 107, see Fig. 9, which cooperates with a roller 109 mounted upon a lever 111, said lever being pivoted to the frame of the machine at one end at 113 and at the other end to a link 115, the outer end of which is in turn pivoted to an arm 117, see Fig. '1, fast to one end of a rockshaft 119, the folder being fast upon said rockshaft. The cam 107 thus serves to bring the folder 105 upwardly and forwardly inter mittently into folding position while a spring 120, see Fig. 1, acts to retract it.

The mechanism for actuating the presser 139 is best shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 8. Fast to the under side of the table 121 of the machine is a casting 123 to which is attached by screws 125 a yoke 127, said yoke having its stem encircled by a spring 129, the lower end of which bears upon a washer 131 which in turn rests upon upstanding portions of a. double arm carrier member or housing 133 pivoted at 135 to the casting 123. The member 133 is normally held in the position shown with its lower edge resting upon a portion of the casting 123 by the spring 129 the tension of which may be varied by means of the adjusting nuts 137, said double arm carrier or housing being capable of angular movement about the pivot 135 against the force of said spring. The presser or hammer 139 is formed with a tail piece 141, also pivoted at 135, and with a cut-away portion through which extends a floating pin or pii ot 143 carried by the double arm 133. Mounted upon this pin is the upper member 145 of a toggle the lower member 147 of which is pivoted at 149 to the presser 139. These toggle members are connected by a knuckle pin 151 to the farther end of which, as viewed in Fig. 8, is pivotally connected the upturned end of an actuating link 153, said link being adjustably attached at its opposite end by a universal joint to an arm 155 pivoted to a stud 157 and having a yoke 159 embracing an eccentric 161 on the shaft 7. Inasmuch as the knuckle pin 151 of the toggle is connected at one end only with theactuating link 153 a guide is provided for preventing angular movement of the pin and consequent binding of the knuckle joint. This guide comprises a yoke 163 having a slot 165 through which a screw bolt 167 passes, the stem of said yoke being guided by lugs which depend from and form a part of the casting 123. \Vith this construction when the rod 153 is moved to straighten the toggle the presser member 139 is moved downwardly. In case, however, this downward movement is successfully resisted, the double arm carrier or housing 133 will be forced upwardly about the pivot 135 against the action of the spring 129. The presser is thus adapted to operate upon leather of different thickness without danger of breaking any part of the mechanism. Moreover, the usual hammering action is done away with and instead an increasing pressure is applied to the fold.

In order to determine the width of the folded margin an edge gage 173 is adjustably mounted upon the table 121 and arranged with its operative end slightly in advance of the lower shear member 43 over which the work passes on its way to the folding instrumentalities.

The separate movements of the knife, the

' feeding fingers and creaser, the folder and the presser have been set forth together with the mechanisms by which said movements are produced; the coiiperative movements of the several members, which are best shown in Figs. 3 to 6, are as follows: Referring to Fig. 3a piece of stock is shown with its forward edge against the side of the knife which is down, the presser 139 and folder 105 being in raised position and the combined feeding finger and creaser 65, 67 in its forward lowered position. As the driving shaft revolves the knife is raised, the folder lowered and the creaser 67 raised and retracted, the parts then being in the position shown in Fig. 4. The creaser then feeds the work forward, the knife is brought down to produce a tongue and the folder rises to bend the tongue over the edge of the creaser, the parts and the work being then in the position shown in Fig. 5. The parts then return to the position shown in Fig. 4 and proceed again to the position shown in Fig. 5 but this time the first tongue partially folded is beneath the presser 139 and the second tongue has been formed and bent over the edge of the creaser. The parts then again assume the position shown in Fig. 4 which is the same as Fig. 6. The result on the work, however, is shown in Fig. 6 wherein the first tongue is beneath the presser, the second tongue is partially folded and the third tongue will be formed when the presser has been raised, the work fed forward one more step, and the knife brought down. The further movement of the parts is simply a repetition of the cycles which have been described. In order to facilitate introducing the work into the machine a hand lever 171, see Fig. 7, pivoted to astationary part engages a lug on the arm 53 whereby said arm can be raised at any time. By referring to Figs. 3 to 6, it will be observed that the knife and folder are located side by side and that they are so actuated that each tongue is bent up by the folder prior to the formation of the next succeeding one.

The feeding finger is slightly longer than the feeding finger 63 so that the distance between it and the stud 69 is slightly less than the distance between the finger 63 and the stud 63. With this construction the feeding of the work is accomplished entirely by the finger 65 and stud 69 until the rear end of the work has passed these members whereupon the finger 63 and stud 68 grip the stock between them and serve to feed it farther. The advantage of this construction is that the operator does not have to pull the stock from the machine, and at the same time the stock is gripped at any given moment in one place only and can therefore be readily turned so as to fold the margin of a curve.

Although the invention has been set forth in connection with an illustrative machine it should be understood that the invention is not limited in the scope of its application to the particular machine shown and described.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. A machine for folding the margin of flexible material in a series of steps, comprising a support for the material, a creaser 0r fold guide arranged to bear on the stock at the line of the fold, a folder movable from a position beneath said support into a position opposed to said support, and means for producing a relative step by step feed movement between the material and the support for causing the folder to act on successive portions of the material, said creaser or fold guide serving to maintain the line of the fold after each step of the feed.

2. A machine for folding the margin of flexible material in a series of steps com prising a support for the material, a creaser or fold guide arranged to bear on the surface of material lying on the support, and a folder movable up and over the line of fold established by said guide, means for feeding the material step by step in the direction of the line of fold, said guide serving to maintain such line after each step of the feed.

3. A machine of the class described having, in combination a creaser and a folder past which the material is fed, said folder being below the path of the material during the advance of said material, and means for -intermittently moving the folder upwardly during the pauses in the feed to bend said material about the edge of the creaser, said creaser being constructed and arranged for feeding the work intermittently into position to have its margin operated upon.

4. A machine of the class described hav ing, in combination, a creaser and a folder past which the material is fed, said folder being below the path of the material during the advance of said material, means for intermittently moving the folder upwardly during the pauses in the feed to bend said material about the edge of the creaser and thereby form a fold, and means for pressing the fold, said creaser being constructed and arranged for feeding the work intermittently into position to have its margin operated upon. I

5. A machine of the class described having, in combination, folding and feeding mechanism comprising a folder held from movement in the line of feed, a combined feeding finger and creaser, means for moving said folder intermittently in a direction transverse to the line of feed to cooperate with the creaser to form a fold, means for causing said combined creaser and feeding finger to engage the material being operated upon and move it for a given distance, and means for varying said distance while maintaining the final forward position of said combined member unchanged.

6. A machine of the class described. having, in combination, a slitting knife, a stem by which said knife is carried, said stem being provided with a hook, a continuously actuated member, and normally stationary means under the control of the operator for causing said member to engage said hook and be disengaged therefrom at will.

7. A. machine of the class described having, in combination, a work support, means for progressively folding the margin of a piece of material on said support, a member for progressively pressing said fold, a toggle located below the work support and connected with said member, and means for actuating said toggle.

8. A. machine of the class described having, in combination, means for progressively folding the margin of a piece of material, a member for progressively pressing said fold, a toggle one member of which is pivoted to said pressing member, a floating pivot with which the other member of said toggle is connected, and means for actuating said toggle.

9. A machine of the class described having, in combination, means for progressively folding the margin of a piece of material, a member for progressively pressing said fold, a toggle one member of which is pivoted to said pressing member, an angularly movable member to which the other member of the toggle is pivoted, and a spring acting to oppose such angular movement.

10. Feed mechanism for a machine of the class described comprising a support for the material, a finger having an operative face of small area for cooperating with the support to grip the material during the feeding movement whereby the material may readily be turned to permit a curved edge to be opeii'ated upon, and means becoming operative after the rear end of the material has passed said finger for continuing the feed.

11. Feed mechanism for a machine of the class described comprising a plurality of sets of members between which the material is gripped, one set being operative until the rearmost end of the material has passed it, the other set then coming into operation, and means for actuating said mechanism.

12. Feed mechanism for a machine of the class described comprising a plurality of sets of grippers between which the same piece of material is held during the feeding operation, means for moving the corresponding grippers of all sets simultaneously toward or from the work, and means for moving all the grippers laterally for feeding the work.

13. Feed mechanism for a machine of the class described comprising a support located on one side of the material which is being operated upon, two feeding fingers located on the opposite side and arranged to cooperate with said support to grip the material, one of said fingers being longer than the other, and means for actuating said fingers.

14. Feed mechanism for a machine of the class described comprising members for engaging the material which is being operated upon, said members being arranged side by side in pairs, a lever for moving said members to effect the feeding movement, an actuating arm to which said lever is pivoted, means for actuating said arm, and means for varying the path of movement of said arm and thereby the extent of movement of the feeding members.

15. Feed mechanism for a machine of the class described comprising gripping members relatively movable in a direction at right angles to the work for engaging the material which is being operated upon, a lever for bodily moving said members to effect the feeding movement, a continuously actuated arm, a pivot connecting said lever and arm, and means acting on said arm for varying the amplitude of movement of said pivot and thereby the rate of feed.

16. Feed mechanism for a machine of the class described comprising members for engaging the material which is being operated upon, a lever for moving said members to effect the feedingmovement, an actuating arm to which said lever is pivoted, said lever being capable of movement angularly and longitudinally, and means for causing onehend of said lever to travel in a straight pat 17. A folding machine having, in combination, a worksupport, a fold presser housing pivotally mounted beneath the plane of the support, a fold presser mounted in the housing, toggle links connecting the presser and the housing, an actuating link connected to the toggle links, and means for adjusting said link whereby the initial position of the presser in the housing may be determined.

18. A folding machine having, in combination, a work support, a fold presser housing pivoted beneath the plane of the Work support, a fold presser mounted in said housing, toggle links connecting said presser and housing, a spring normally holding said housing in a given position but permitting said housing and with it said presser to yield, and means for operating said toggle.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLARD A. SMITH.

Witnesses:

CHESTER E. ROGERS, LAURA M. Goonnrncn.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, 'by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. c. 

